The present invention relates to nail enamels, also known as nail lacquers.
Nail enamels conventionally comprise a film forming component, which is frequently nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate butyrate, or a combination of one or both of those cellulosics with a polyurethane or other polymeric compound. Nail enamels have also traditionally included plasticizers, typically a phthalate such as dibutyl phthalate, or camphor, and have also typically included as a plasticizer and/or adhesion promoter a polymeric component formed by condensation polymerization of formaldehyde or other aldehyde, typically an aromatic sulfonamide-aldehyde condensation resin such as o, p-toluene sulfonamide formaldehyde resin.
It is desirable that a nail enamel contain reduced amounts of phthalates and aldehyde (e.g. formaldehyde) condensation products, in order to alleviate concerns that some wearers may be sensitized to phthalate or uncondensed aldehyde in the nail enamel. It is also desirable to reduce or eliminate volatile components such as camphor, since the volatility leads to loss of the component which causes variability in the performance of the nail enamel. However, attempts to formulate such nail enamels have encountered difficulties because the nail enamel's desired properties such as long wear, high gloss, resistance to chipping on the nail, and compatibility with other nail enamel ingredients, are sensitive to changes in the ingredients in the nail enamel and to changes in the amounts of those ingredients. Therefore, there is still a need for a nail enamel formulation exhibiting satisfactory properties and containing little or no phthalate and/or aldehyde condensation products.